FRIDAY 12th
Psalm 33 (2)
NIV (vv10-11) – ‘The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.’
ESV (vv10-11) – ‘The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.’
We continue with the thoughts from yesterday and we see in our verses before us today that the counsel of the LORD stands forever. I used as my thought for this the Counselling Wisdom of the Lord. When we consider the counsel or decrees of mankind, it is fragile and often times futile, for mankind can plan and scheme and yet at the drop of the hat the plans can fall or fail, in fact the Scripture reminds us that man can plan but if it is not aligned to the plan and purpose of the LORD it will be foiled and thwarted, But in comparison, the Counsel or the decrees of God stands firm forever, nothing can thwart it, and the reason is that man plans out of his finite wisdom as a created being, but God’s counsel, God’s plans are formed out of his infinite wisdom and his might. Mankind plans not knowing the future, but God has planned already knowing he has the future outlined. And thus man can do all he can to thwart the purpose of God but he will never succeed, it would be like a mouse trying to push an elephant, impossible, because man in his wisdom is weak and helpless in comparison to the majestic wisdom of Almighty God. Job after all he went through came to this definite conclusion, ‘I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.’
The final thought from this chapter is the Confident Waiting upon the LORD. David knows that he could confidently wait on the LORD, he knew that because he trusted in the Lord as the Creator and therefore as the upholder of all things that he was in God’s hands, he knew that he could trust upon the wisdom of God’s counsel and that what God had purposed would come to pass, he knew that however long it may seem to take, he could wait confidently on the LORD knowing he would come through for him, and as a result he would lift up his heart, lift up his voice and worship the Lord with the community of the saints.
The application for us from these two thoughts today is that we need to learn (if we already haven’t) to confidently wait upon the Lord, that he may make known to us what is his wise counsel for us in our lives, we need to discern that which is his will, his purpose for us in every way and in all that we do.
Also, as we wait upon the Lord with confidence, we know that this will bring its own reward, ‘Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.’ Isaiah 40:28-31